KBO reaches 5 mil. fans in record-breaking fashion
Fans watch a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game between the SSG Landers and the Kia Tigers at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southern city of Gwangju, May 22. Yonhap
The South Korean baseball league has topped 5 million fans for the season in record-breaking style.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Thursday its attendance for the season reached 5,041,891 fans following five games the previous evening. Those five games drew a combined 105,441 fans across the nation.
The KBO surpassed 5 million in 275 games, beating the previous record of 294 games set during the 2025 season.
The KBO went on to set a single-season attendance record last year with over 12.3 million fans and is now on pace to break that mark. The league has topped every million milestone this season in record-setting fashion.
The KBO said teams needed just 13 days to go from 4 million to 5 million, also a record.
Four of five games played Wednesday were sold out. The Doosan Bears hosted the Hanwha Eagles before 23,750 fans at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. The NC Dinos visited the Samsung Lions and 24,000 fans at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu. Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju had 20,500 fans on hand for the game between the home team Kia Tigers and the Lotte Giants. The KT Wiz and the LG Twins played in front of 18,700 fans at KT Wiz Park in Suwon.
The only game that didn't sell out was between the Kiwoom Heroes and the SSG Landers at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, which had 18,491 fans.
The KBO said 165 out of 275 games have been sold out so far. The record for the most sellouts for a season is 331 from last year.
The Twins and the Eagles are tied for the most sellouts with 26 apiece, followed by the Lions with 23 and the Bears with 20.
Both the Twins and the Eagles have been filling 99.8 percent of their stadiums' capacity. The Twins, based at 23,750-seat Jamsil, are averaging 23,692 fans per game. The Eagles, whose Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark holds 17,000, are drawing 16,972 fans per game on average.
The KBO said its games have averaged 18,334 fans per game, up from 16,733 at this point a season ago. All 10 teams have enjoyed an uptick in average attendance from 2025.